The Texas AgriLife Extension Service has launched the RanchTV online learning center Web site to extend educational resource and information to beef cattle producers via the Internet.

The Web site, developed by Dr. Dan Hale with the help of Bryan Waters of Solutions by Waters, offers more than 150 short videos on beef cattle industry topics. The site can be reached at http://ranchtv.org.

“The goal of the online digital library is to provide cattle producers easy access to information that will help their bottom line and teach best management practices,” Hale said.

In 2009, the Meat Science and Beef Cattle Extension groups developed two online learning centers, Hale said.

“This was accomplished using video from past projects sponsored by the Texas Beef Council,” he said. “Both learning centers are part of a digital strategy to provide educational tools and resources to the over 100,000 cattle producers in the state of Texas, as well those across the United States.”

The beef quality and safety digital learning strategy includes a digital video library called RanchTV and a series of online training courses packaged together at CowsenseU.

The online Beef Quality Assurance training for the Texas Beef Quality Producer Program is the flagship course for CowsenseU, Hale said.

From low-stress cattle handling to food safety and grid marketing, RanchTV includes info about almost every aspect of beef production.

“RanchTV will be an evolving online learning center for cattle producers, with many more videos scheduled to be added over the year,” Hale said.

RanchTV topics include:

- Beef Quality Assurance.

- Carcass Grid Marketing & Meats. - Cattle Evaluation.

- Cull Cow Management.

- Environment and Biosecurity.

- Food Safety.

- Health.

- Horses.

- Low-stress Handling of Livestock.

- Nutrition and Feeding.

- Ranch to Rail Program.

- Reproduction.

- Selection & Genetics.

- Transporting Cattle.

- Youth Beef Cattle Projects.

“It is the goal to continually add new videos on the latest issues facing the beef cattle industry,” Hale said.

The RanchTV online learning center was developed in part through the checkoff funds provided by the Texas Beef Council.